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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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I had some things to say last week, didn't write them down, and now I've forgotten. I guess THAT is why I should blog. So this will be a list of random things.
I went down to Providence this past weekend to watch all of Lost Season 3. Who knew 15 hours of television could be so tiring? I got there a little after 6pm on Saturday, we watched 12 episodes that night, slept, ate brunch and then watched the back 11, with just a break for carrot cake/drinks before the season finale. All and all, I was gone 30 hours. I had forgotten how dull the first six episodes were, but how great some of the back episodes were (especially the season finale). I'm really looking forward to the return on Thursday (also, is the strike over yet? No? Damn.).
Kathy has gotten me back into Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. She got me a few bottles for Christmas (two of my favorites, Bordello and Madrid), I placed an order in early January for a few more bottles, and then after seeing Kathy's collection this weekend, placed ANOTHER order Sunday night. Perfume oils get expensive, but it's oh so addicting. Except... I've already got enough buying addictions (yarn, anyone?), thank you very much. Hopefully I can stop soon.
Steph moved out last week, and I've enjoyed having the place to myself. My new roommate (yes, I found one, her name is Catherine) has been moving boxes in since, and she hopes to be fully moved in tomorrow. I'm seriously leaning towards finding a place of my own once my lease is up at the end of September. I've got some preparations to do, it seems.
Today, Kathy and I booked our trip to Atlanta to visit Dan. We're flying into Atlanta on Tuesday, March 25th, driving to Savannah/Hilton Head that night, staying for two days, then driving back to Atlanta, where we'll be until Tuesday, April 1st. Interestingly, Kathy and I arrive in Atlanta and then depart from Atlanta within 15 minutes of each other, even though Kathy is flying on United with a connection in Chicago (both ways) while I'm flying direct on Delta. She's in it for the miles, I prefer the shortest trip possible. :-P We have things planned such as eating at The Lady & Sons in Savannah, going to the beach at Hilton Head, going to an Alton Brown lecture and book signing, seeing Avenue Q (which will be in Boston right before Atlanta and Kathy and I might be planning on going in both cities....), and other possibilities such as the CNN building, the Coke museum and finding a plaque in Marietta that represents where Elizabeth, GA, used to be. :-)
I discovered Meritage last night. I know, I know, where have I been, I know others love this wine. I'm beginning to realize that I really don't like oaky wines, because this Meritage (2002 Stuart Cellars Tatria, in case you were wondering - it's a Temucula Valley, California, wine) is very fruity, tannic and delicious. I try not to be too much of a wine snob, and do have a lot of wines that I like outside of Italian ones (though, yes, they are my favorite). I don't like Bordeaux wines, though, typically, because they tend to not be very fruity (more of a vegetable taste), and I'm not a Cabernet Sauvignon fan. But this is delicious, and I will definitely give other Meritage wines a chance.
I also bought a slow cooker recently, and I love it. Last week I made turkey and vegetables in it, and today and I made Beef Burgundy (which I used the Meritage for - just half a cup!). Making food in the slow cooker is fast (at least in preparation, and then I can leave it while I go about my day) and healthy, so it'll definitely get a lot of use this winter.
And finally, it looks like tomorrow is when I actually return to poker (barring a last minute change in the current circumstances), and I'm both looking forward to it and not looking forward to it (more the former, of course). This isn't the way I wanted to return, but it has to be done and once the first night back is over, I think everything will be fine. And I can stop talking about it. :-P
- Lizzardie, at 7:40 PM
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Monday, January 21, 2008
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Today is the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. I am at work today (no rest for the weary around here), but this has been on mind since last week, because of the election, of course, and one of his sermon's was the topic of yesterday's Homily at church (ohh, going regularly is one of my New Years Resolutions - I mentioned yesterday that I've been thinking a lot about faith lately, right?). Here is a link to the text of the sermon that was discussed yesterday: The Drum Major Instinct. The Pastor yesterday made sure to point out that this sermon was given exactly two months before he died, on February 4th, 1968.
I think the topic of this sermon, while different from the usual clips we get from Dr. King around this time of year, is of particular interest to me, given my mood lately. If you don't have time to read the whole thing (it is long), here are two passages that have given me pause:
"And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, (Everybody) because everybody can serve. (Amen) You don't have to have a college degree to serve. (All right) You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. (Amen) You only need a heart full of grace, (Yes, sir, Amen) a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant."
The second one:
"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes)
"I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes)
"I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.
"I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen)
"I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes)
"And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes)
"I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord)
"I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)
"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say."
I hope that wasn't too preachy for any of you. Just because I'm going to church these days, doesn't mean you all have to come with me. It's just timely, given the day.
Ohh, and I think the words in italics were spoken by the congregation, but maybe they were part of Dr. King's sermon? I guess I could just listen to the audio, if I really wanted to know!
- Lizzardie, at 2:13 PM
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Sunday, January 20, 2008
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Just because I haven't blogged in awhile does not mean I haven't thought about it. I've thought a lot about it, actually. I had a conversation with Dan recently where he was talking about why he blogs. And that got me thinking.... why do I blog? The real reason is that I do it because I've been doing it as long as I remember, and it feels weird not to. But that's not a great reason to do something. I've mentioned fear before, and that's still the case - I'm afraid of sharing my opinions and thoughts sometimes, because I'm afraid that will make people like me less. Which is sad.
I've felt a little (maybe a lot) scared recently. And that has led me to a lot of thinking about what is driving my life right now. I mean, on the surface, my life is great, right? I have a job that pays well, and I live in an apartment that is warm, and I can put food on my plate. No one I know is sick and/or dying. My family, though they are far away, loves me. I have a number of good friends. And if I just wanted to get up, and change it all one day... I have the means to do that.
And yet... I hate that job, and my apartment, while wonderful, feels "cold and empty". And those good friends? It doesn't feel like they're in or near Boston sometimes (no offense if you are).
And so I've been doing a lot of thinking about right and wrong, fear, forgiveness, love, faith. I want to make my life worth living, and that's not an easy thing to do, sometimes... I have high standards. :-) And this world is not black and white, so it is hard to find the line between forgiveness/love and right, because, sometimes, enough is enough, and you've done all you can. But because I'm me, and I want everyone to like me, I have trouble figuring out where to draw the line.
And I'm rambling, but I don't care, because it's my blog and I'll say what I want to, say what I want to... all right, done. I'm going to try harder here. I'm going to try harder to say what's really on my mind, and not care what other people think, or at least be okay if they have different opinions than me, and realize that we're not all the same, and just because we don't agree on something doesn't mean we're not friends anymore. And I'm going to try and remember that.... I'm the only one that remembers every word I say. :-)
So starting with... a mini movie review, first. I saw Juno this weekend, at the lovely Somerville Theatre... which is old, and it shows, but has its own character, and I love that. I liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would. To be honest, I just wanted to see it for the cast, which was awesome, but it ended up being really... real. And it was real right away, with a lot of awkwardness that I think makes you remember that the girl is 16 and doesn't really know what she's doing. I did think, though, that it moved a little slow, but that doesn't bother me - it reminded me of Garden State or Elizabethtown in that way. It's a movie that I will probably end up picking up the DVD for, and popping in on a cold, rainy weekend (or when I'm hungover), because while it's a pretty serious subject, it's light-hearted and just one of those movies for me.
Also this weekend.... I played poker! Ohh my, do I love that game, and I don't know why. But I do. I hadn't played in so many months, and it was different (in a good way), because I didn't know most of the people I was playing with. Also, I lost $40, which didn't bother me, because, hey, that's how the game goes. I enjoyed it, and I want to play more. And that really leads me to the forgiveness/right/enough is enough issue. Silly, isn't it? Every time I think about it, I cannot believe that so many problems in my life have revolved around a stupid (FREE!) weekly poker tournament that I really want to attend, and that there's this extremely unbalanced proportion between the people who want to see me there (high) and the people who don't (low), one of whom isn't even there most of the time. And the more I think about it (and the more I talk to those who want me there, which I did again tonight), the more I come to believe that I am right, and I have still bent over backwards to make people who are not my friends happy and comfortable with my presence, and that will never happen, and enough is ENOUGH. So I'm going back. Because it's important to me. Because I miss my friends. Because I am done second guessing whether or not I've done everything I can - I have. Because my presence will not "ruin" or "end" the game. Because this will never be over unless I make it over.
Thanks for still reading, if you do. When I check my web stats, I'm shocked to see who still sticks it out, to see if I've posted anything new (and it's all usually so mundane!). I of course won't make any promises, but I'm going to try and post more frequently, and maybe about more interesting things. Interesting websites, my thoughts on random things (there's this election going on, and I'm leaning towards voting in my first primary!), and more interesting reviews of the things I've done, because "I did this, then I did that" doesn't really tell anyone much of anything useful. :-P And... no one is going to agree with me all the time. And that's okay. After all, I am filled with love and forgiveness for all right now, and I hope that all of you are, too (and yes, that was cheesy). :-)
- Lizzardie, at 11:53 PM
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